A Place on Earth
by ana barton
Summary: Oneshot. Just something that I think can happen, randomly, if you will.


A Place on Earth

Ana Barton

"What the hell do you mean you're going back again?!" InuYasha shouted indignantly. "You just got back here!!"

They were at it again. Kagome had forgotten her English book and she really needed to review it for another test sometime next week. And as usual, InuYasha was being stubborn and was arguing with her again.

"But, InuYasha…!"

"NO! You've already been gone for THREE WHOLE FRIGGING DAYS!! You are NOT going back again!"

Kagome narrowed her eyes at him. "Osuwari."

THUD! InuYasha soon found himself face down on the ground. His whole body ached, most especially his back, but he still reached out and grabbed onto her ankle to keep her from going anywhere.

"Dammit, Kagome…" he whispered, "don't go."

She stomped her foot, causing him to let go. "Geez, InuYasha, I'll only be gone 30 minutes, maybe an hour tops." She knelt down next to him on the ground and helped him sit up. She had on her pleading face – big, watery eyes, pouting lips, the whole enchilada. "Pretty please?"

The hanyou huffed and crossed his arms. "If you're not back in an hour, I'm going over and dragging you back."

Kagome threw her arms around him for a brief hug then she was over the Bone-Eater's Well and back in her time.

InuYasha just sat there for a while, a wondering half-smile lighting up his face. He looked around – she left her gigantic bag behind. He stood up and slung it over his shoulder then jumped up to his favorite branch up in the Go Shinboku by the enchanted well.

_Guess I'll have to wait for her here. Good thing the others aren't here…_ He settled in to wait. _ I really am getting soft with her around. The hell do I care if she goes off to her world…?_ He grimaced to himself. He looked around and smelled the air. Seeing as there was no one near, he held her bag closer to him and smelled in her scent. Her scent was everywhere and he wanted it to be on him. _Heck, I care… I just can't… admit it to her and to myself._

I know I have to let go of her sometime, damn it. The Shikon shards are almost complete, we only need Naraku's shards and a few more others. The jewel is already beginning to take shape. And when it is whole and purified, and Naraku is defeated… then I have to let her go.

He jumped down from the tree. Kagome'd been gone for only 10 minutes and he was starting to feel restless. InuYasha decided to bring her bag to Kaede-baba's hut then wait for her back here. With that plan in mind, he sped off to the village.

InuYasha was just a blur of red as he went in and deposited the bag in the hut. He noted that Shippou was still napping beside Sango, and even Miroku was reclining against one wall of the hut – far away from Sango and her boomerang. It had been a slow few days for them. Kaede-baba just nodded at him and then he was gone and back by the god tree in under a minute.

He went back up to his branch and waited.

_Kagome… She really is a nice girl. We've been on this quest for a while now, and she still comes back here to help us. Not that she can't not help – it was her fault after all, that the Shikon no Tama was shattered… And she is the only one among us who can detect the shards and purify them._

I wish… I wish this quest would never end… then she'd spend more time here, with me.

And that thought always led him back to Kikyo. Now, what was he going to do with that dead priestess?

_And she really is dead, with only hatred holding that body of mud and bones together. But I did pledge her my life… I owe her something, yes, but I'll be damned if I'll give her my life and go to hell with her. I don't want to die, but I owe her something. The least I could do for her is to free her from that body of mud and bones… To free Kikyo I have to defeat Naraku._

But defeating Naraku means getting the shards and completing the jewel, and that means losing Kagome.

Damn, I hate it when I think in circles!

"InuYasha! I'm back! And under an hour to boot!" Kagome yelled out from inside the well. She saw a clawed hand appear above her. She gripped it tight and then she was in the Sengoku Jidai with InuYasha in front of her. She grinned happily and thrust her watch at him. "See? It isn't even 30 minutes yet since I left…" She looked at him closely in concern. He was being unusually quiet for someone who really wanted to start searching for the shards immediately. "InuYasha?"

"Feh." He turned his back on her and sat down on the roots of the god tree.

She followed him curiously. "Ne, InuYasha… I thought you wanted to search for the shards now?" She looked around. "And where's my backpack?"

He shrugged. "I dropped it off at Kaede-baba's. The others were asleep when I went there."

"Oh."

Kagome approached him softly and knelt in front of him on the ground. "Well, what do you want to do now?"

He frowned then crossed his arms. "We're stuck here. They'll probably wake up too late to start on a search. We'll have to continue tomorrow. You can go there, too, if you want."

She leaned back in surprise. Is this really InuYasha? "Osuwari."

THUNK! InuYasha's face made immediate contact with the hard ground and roots. "Bitch! Why'dja do that for?!"

She was nodding to herself when he got himself off the ground. "You're InuYasha alright."

"Why shouldn't I be me? Of course, I'm ME, idiot!" He was doing a fairly good imitation of Soun's demon head.

Kagome just shook her head and reached up to feel his forehead. "Hmm… No fever…" She gave him a visual examination. "No visible symptoms, anyway… Are you sure you're alright, InuYasha?"

He glared at her and crossed his arms and turned his face away in a pouty snub. "Feh, of course, I'm alright! Stupid wench…"

She just shook her head at him. "You're actually letting us rest…? Instead of charging off into the great unknown to look for the shards…?"

"So, what of it?"

"It really must be a slow day for us…" Kagome stood up slowly and brushed off her skirt. She held out her hand for the hanyou. "Let's go, InuYasha."

He looked at her hand for a good bit then reached out his clawed hand to take hers. "I guess…"

Disclaimer: InuYasha belongs to the great Rumiko Takahashi… but my birthday's coming up real soon, so maybe she'd give the rights to me…?

****

InuYasha: Feh! Wishful thinking! She'd never give me to you! You'd just go and make a lot of WAFFy stories about me and Kagome and how we'd live happily ever after when the Shikon no Tama is completed and you'd not let me change into a full youkai because Kagome fell in love with ME and doesn't care about my mixed blood!

****

Ana Barton: Was that InuYasha requesting me to write a lot of WAFFy stories about him and Kagome and how they'd live happily ever after when the Shikon no Tama is completed and not let him change into a full youkai because Kagome fell in love with HIM and doesn't care about his mixed blood? Far be it for me to deny InuYasha-kun's request…!

****

InuYasha: I WASN'T…! I DIDN'T…! ARGH!! INSUFFERABLE WENCH!!


End file.
